Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)
Chapter 374

"Wow, you finally remembered I exist!" Catherine's voice carried a hint of annoyance.

"Hey, I've been running around like crazy all day. It's a miracle I can even dial your number. Be grateful, will ya?" I retorted with a smug sense of pride before asking, "So, what have you been up to all day?" "Sleeping, mostly. Just horsing around with the kids this evening," Catherine drawled lazily. "I'm on vacation, remember?"

I snorted, "Sleeping all day, doing facials, too. What's the matter, getting old?"

"What do you think? Sleeping is exhausting, you know?" she argued with conviction. "I'm not getting any younger. Got to take preventative measures so I don't age faster than I did last year."

Her words nearly had me hanging up the phone, ready to call her out, "You sound like you're freaking out over a crisis. What's going on?"

"Nonsense!" She snapped back, though I couldn't see her face.

"Logan's heading back to Goldenvale Town tomorrow. You planning on joining him?" I threw out a little bait, testing her reaction.

Sure enough, she gasped, "What? Who said that?"

"I'm not even done talking. What's the rush?" I teased, eyeing her mask-covered face as if it were the gospel truth. "Didn't he ask you?"

"No... He said he'd be staying for a few days!" Catherine sounded utterly suspicious.

I almost burst out laughing but held it in, continuing, "We had dinner together tonight."

"What?" She exclaimed again, a mix of shock and irritation in her voice. "He told me he was busy. What's he playing at?"

Internally I was scoffing at her obvious concern, thinking, 'Well, well, the cat's out of the bag now, isn't it?'

"What's he playing at?" I echoed, feigning ignorance. "Since when do you schedule Logan's plans?"

"Drop it," she retorted gruffly. "I couldn't care less about him. Who is he to me?"

"Sure, whatever you say," I goaded her. "You claim you don't know the guy, yet you're all up in his schedule? What does it matter to you who he eats with? And another thing, you never take a break, but the minute you hear he's in Silverdale City, you're back here vacationing like there's no tomorrow. You sure you're not coming down with something? Might need to take you to the hospital tomorrow!"

At that, Catherine lost her cool. "Aaliyah Wilburn, seems like you've forgotten your own troubles the moment you're back on your feet, always picking on me! Are you even making sense? What exactly am I being hard about?"

She ripped off her face mask, no longer pretending, and glared at me through the screen with righteous indignation.

"You've got no idea what it's like to be alone, do you? You're still shaking off your last fling, and you've got a line of suitors at your door. Why don't you talk about that?" she accused me outright. Her words hit me hard, and I was taken aback. She was genuinely upset now, letting everything out.

She wasn't done yet, "I'm practically an antique at this point. It's bad enough you don't help, but then you have to make your snide remarks. Don't you dare call me your bestie ever again. After all these years o putting up with you, do you think it's been easy for me?"

I quickly tried to smooth things over, "Not easy at all!"

"Save it. If it weren't for you, would I even know him? He can have dinner with whomever he pleases. Indeed, what's it to me?"

I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer, and she immediately turned sour, "What's so funny? Go ahead, laugh!"

"I'm just amused by how serious you're taking this. You get all worked up over a meal he's having? Honestly, I did see who he was eating with because I arranged it. The guy's swamped with work, practically on fire. They were all burning the midnight oil, so I booked them a meal." I explained, and deep down, I could tell she was smitten with Logan.

"I... he..." She realized she'd let her guard slip and struggled to find an excuse.

"You what?" I teased her mercilessly. "You're on vacation. Act like it and stop worrying about nonsense. You say I don't help, but how can I when you're so secretive about this stuff? You act like it's something scandalous. What's with the hiding? If you don't want me to know, how can I help?"

I pressed on, not giving her a break, "Who was it that always preached about staying single? You clam up whenever this topic comes up, and that's not like you. Your motto was always 'go for what you like.' What's with the sudden change? You're acting like you lost your compass."

After my relentless teasing, her defiant spirit seemed to fizzle out, and she lay on her bed, tossing and turning, sighing in despair.

Seeing her like this, I realized something wasn't right. Had I hit a nerve?